CrowPi 1 Power Supply – 12V 2A or Other Versions?

treo

Hello,

I checked the official CrowPi website and found that the DC power adapter for CrowPi 1 is specified as 12V 2A. I would like to confirm:

Do all versions of CrowPi 1 use a 12V 2A power adapter, or are there versions with different power requirements?

If I connect power through the Micro USB port, does it require 5V 3A, or is there another recommended specification?

I ask this because I recently plugged a 5V 3A power supply into the Micro USB port of my CrowPi 1. However, I immediately noticed a burning smell, and it seems like something got damaged. I want to understand if this was due to using an incorrect power specification or if there might be another issue.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Jennie

Hi, treo,
Thank you for reaching out. Here is some information about your questions.
1. All versions of CrowPi 1 use a 12V 2A power adapter.
2. If powering through the Micro USB port, a 5V 5A power adapter is required.
3. Based on your description, generally speaking, using a 5V 3A power supply through the Micro USB port should not cause components to burn. However, if the voltage is insufficient, certain modules may not be properly powered, but it typically won't cause components to burn out. To ensure stable operation, it is recommended to use a 5V 5A power adapter connected to the Micro USB port. Also, please make sure not to connect both the DC power supply and the USB power supply simultaneously, as the device does not support dual power input. If the issue persists, it may be related to the quality of the power supply or other underlying issues.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask.

rhaugen

This is a very interesting thread as I have just experienced the same issue. I originally powered my newly acquired Crow Pi 1 with the micro Usb and it ran fine however Raspian was reporting a low voltage warning so I set up a barrel jack off of my power supply and set it to about 8 or 9 volts. The power switch started to smoke and the display flashed a couple of times and now it doesn't work. I have dismantled the unit and am now trying to figure out if the display is wrecked. Would there be a schematic available that would allow me to trace out the power rail ? Where are the voltage regulators on the unit ? the only thing that I have been able to determine to this point is that the Camera Controller chip has been damaged and is overheating.
thanks in advance

treo

@rhaugen said:
This is a very interesting thread as I have just experienced the same issue. I originally powered my newly acquired Crow Pi 1 with the micro Usb and it ran fine however Raspian was reporting a low voltage warning so I set up a barrel jack off of my power supply and set it to about 8 or 9 volts. The power switch started to smoke and the display flashed a couple of times and now it doesn't work. I have dismantled the unit and am now trying to figure out if the display is wrecked. Would there be a schematic available that would allow me to trace out the power rail ? Where are the voltage regulators on the unit ? the only thing that I have been able to determine to this point is that the Camera Controller chip has been damaged and is overheating.
thanks in advance

I also own a CrowPi 2 and use the power bank that came with it (5V 3A) to power it without any low voltage warnings.

Last time, I had to send my CrowPi 1 for repair because smoke came out from the power switch area after using the barrel jack. An unofficial repair technician told me that my CrowPi 1 might be an early version, and using a 12V 2A power supply caused an overload. I’m not sure if that’s accurate—I’d rather trust Elecrow’s official statement.

PS: I’m in China, and when I tried to reach out to the official store I contacted a year ago, I found out they’ve shut down.